Today we’re visiting with Zoe Woodward, owner of Swan Cottage Flowers in Stoke Hammond, UK to discuss:

• how she turned her passion for gardening into a business
• the importance and benefit of a solid educational foundation
• how she chooses content for Instagram stories
• growing flowers for wedding couples
• the logistics of growing 100% of the flowers she uses in weddings
• how she and her husband, Neil, manage the business and farming responsibilities
• the layout and function of the Swan Cottage facilities and gardens
• her favorite (and least favorite!) varieties to grow
• why she doesn't worry about trends
• how she ensures she'll have enough flowers blooming for each wedding she accepts

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series

• Chelsea Flower Show
• RHS Courses
• Holly Chapple
• Tulipina
• Floret
• 3 Porch Farm
• Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Mayesh Wholesale

Click here to visit Mayesh Wholesale’s useful website – filled with tools & educational content like the Flower Library treasured by designers. And stay tuned for the reveal of a brand new interactive website coming soon!

Would you like to be the 2020 Mayesh Design Star? Click here for details on entry submission!

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Guest Co-Host: Robby Lazano | Ten23 Photography

BB Podcast Sound Engineer: Landon McGee

Today we’re visiting with Michelle Hodges, owner of Sprout in Fredericksburg, Texas to discuss:

• her proposal process for wedding flowers
• the Sprout Mood Boards
• her transition into floral design from the teaching profession
• the progression of her business from flower stand to retail shop to private studio
• working with destination brides
• the benefits of freelancing for other designers
• sourcing flowers
• the importance of color in her work
• her interest in photography
• the importance of community within the floral profession

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series
• BB Garden Style Shop

 Links mentioned in Episode Forty-Three:

• Amy Osaba Design
• Ariella Chezar 
• Florabundance
• Mayesh
• Ellen Westcott | Westcott Weddings
• Melanie McKinley | Mayhar Design
• Adobe Indesign
• Apple Pages
• Round Top Antiques Week
• The Pearl Barn
• Shanna Skidmore

Botanical Brouhaha Garden Style

Join us for a hands-on workshop and artistic collaboration with Susan McLeary, Phil John Perry, and Holly Chapple on Nov. 4-6, 2019 in Bryan, Texas. Proceeds will help us meet needs and create opportunities for our neighbors in Bryan. Click here for more info. We'd love to see you there!

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BB Podcast Sound Engineer: Landon McGee

Today we’re visiting with Sylvia Bustamante Gubbins, founder of Madrid Flower School in Madrid, Spain to discuss:

• what led her to flowers while working on a Master's degree in Creative Writing at NYU
• the impact of taking her first class at New York Botanical Garden
• her love of the Putnam and Putnam workshop experience
• moving from journalism to floral design through writing about florists and floral workshops
• the relationships she found in the floral industry vs. the loneliness she'd experienced working alone as a writer
• her first opportunities in freelancing
• her Instagram page Floristas del Mundo
• the decisions she had to make when relocating to Madrid
• the new Madrid Flower School facilities, master classes,  and curriculum
• the extensive World Floral Workshops List she created to assist other floral designers
• how owning a flower school will change her life
• the importance of technology in the floral industry

Madrid Flower School | Florista del Mundo | World Flower Workshops List

Facebook: Madrid Flower School | Floristas del Mundo group

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Mayesh Wholesale

Click here to visit Mayesh Wholesale’s useful website – filled with tools & educational content like the Flower Library treasured by designers. And stay tuned for the reveal of a brand new interactive website coming soon!

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BB Podcast Sound Engineer: Landon McGee

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series
• BB Garden Style Shop

• Chapel Designers
• The Met 
• Luxonomist
• Victoria Clausen Floral Events
• Sinclair & Moore
• Ponderosa & Thyme
• Hope Flower Farm
• Flower School New York
• London Flower School
• Lucia Milan
• If I Made
• Sarah Winward
• Sarita de Castro
• Holly Chapple | Egg & Pillow mechanics by Syndicate Sales
• Eco Fresh Bouquet Wrap

We were thrilled to have Francoise Weeks and Jenn Ederer as guests for the second live taping of the BB Podcast during the BB Garden Style Workshop on April 2, 2019. The interview was structured as a Q&A with the audience of attendees at the end of the workshop day. Because the BB community is spread far and wide and couldn’t all be there with us that day, we want to share the conversation with you! Francoise and Jenn shared their heartfelt ideas on:

• efficient use of social media while forming and respecting boundaries
• people who have inspired and supported them during their careers
• overcoming fear
• how Jenn handled staffing as she scaled her business while growing over the years

We’d like to say a very special thank you to our BB Garden Style Workshop partners. We could not have accomplished this workshop and continued to fulfill the BB Garden Style mission without them. We’re incredibly grateful for their support and encouragement!

Save the date…we’re doing it again on November 4-6, 2019 with three more flower friends who are anxious to share their knowledge while supporting the BB Garden Style initiative…Susan McLeary, Phil John Perry, and Holly Chapple!  Click here for details on the next workshop!

• Market 1023
• Ten23 Photography
• Greenleaf Wholesale
• Oasis Floral Product
• Urban Rubbish
• Thistle Floral Design
• Moosefeathers Florist
• Bramble & Bee
• Events to Remember
• The Queen Theatre
• Downtown Bryan Association
• Copy Corner

Live Podcast Production Team:

Joel McGee | Chris Hoover | Landon McGee

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series
• BB Garden Style Shop

Today we’re visiting with Nicole Rossi, owner of Texture Florals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to discuss:

• her unconventional transition from architecture to floral design
• creating a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), the pros and cons, and what eventually led her to change the direction of her business
• the experience that sparked her interest in wedding and event flowers
• the event that ended up being the push she needed to start her own business
• her unique studio environment
• a new project she’s recently launched
• the logistics behind her editorial work
• the administrative changes she’s currently making
• some of the hurdles she’s faced during her quickly-growing flower career
• the supportive flower community in Philadelphia and how they have embraced her
• the importance of designers communicating on pricing for the good of the industry as a whole

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series
• BB Garden Style Shop

• Studio Choo
• David’s Bridal
• BOK Building
• Fresh Designs Florist / Design Sanctuary
• Sebesta Floral + Event Design
• Jennifer Designs Events
• Faye + Renee
• RAM Floral
• Indesign
• Done + Dusted
• Urban Outfitters
• Anthropologie
• Free People
• G. Page Wholesale Flowers

Click here for more info on Alison Ellis’s email, proposal, contract, and work flow templates or visit the Real Flower Business website here.

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Guest Co-Host: Robby Lozano | Ten23 Photography

BB Podcast Sound Engineer: Landon McGee

Today we’re visiting Lucia Milan, owner of Lucia Milan Flower Studio in São Paulo, Brazil to discuss:

• her transition from fashion stylist to flower business owner
• how Chapel Designers membership impacted her business
• exploring and refining Brazilian style
• her passion for sustainable practices
• how traveling changed her thinking
• how she finds ideal wedding clients
• her desire for her work to mimic nature rather than alter it
• her tropical garden (and the little monkeys who visit it!)
• what inspired her to search for change artistically and how she’s come to feel whole in her work
• how her teenage children affect her work
• her efforts to build a sense of community in her market
• why she sees workshops as an investment in her business
• the importance of accurate pricing

• "Contemporary Flowers" from Olivier Dupon (Thames and Hudson, London)
• Chapel Designers | Holly Chapple
• The Blue Carrot
• Ponderosa & Thyme
• Flower House Mexico
• Tulipina
• Ariella Chezar
• Simply by Arrangement
• Hitomi Gilliam
• Alison Ellis | Real Flower Business
• Max Gill
• Makoto Azuma 

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series
• BB Garden Style Shop

Click here for more information on The Mayesh Pull - send your sales rep inspiration images, a budget, Pinterest boards, etc. and have your rep pull a custom order for you. It's a great way to find out about new, fun products you might not have known about otherwise!

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BB Podcast Sound Engineer: Landon McGee

Today we’re visiting Katie Noonan AIFD, owner of Noonan's Wine Country Designs in San Luis Obispo, California to discuss:

• how her parents and their business influenced her love of flowers
• how AIFD Symposium has been instrumental in her passion for and pursuit of floral design
• what she did for a living while building her floral design business
• the 2 greatest challenges she faces when designing outdoor weddings
• the designs she refuses to sell to her clients
• the photoshoot that propelled her business to the next level
• the guidelines she uses when deciding whether or not to get involved in a photoshoot
• where she finds inspiration
• her thoughts on social media
• how she finds work-life balance
• scheduling time away from the business
• the challenges of handling the business side of a floral design business
• why she takes small deposits for weddings

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series
• BB Garden Style Shop

• Florabundance Design Days
• Pim van den Akker
• Chapel Designers
• Hitomi Gilliam AIFD
• Cal Poly | San Luis Obispo
• SAIFD 

Click here for more info on Flower Math: The Florist’s Guide To Pricing & Profitability or visit the Real Flower Business website here.

Today we’re visiting Coral Shortt, owner of Epanouir Flower Studio in Cape Town, South Africa to discuss:

• her introduction to flowers while growing up in a family of flower-loving gardeners
• the correlation between her IT background and the project management end of weddings
• her transition from retail to a wedding specialty
• two important considerations when opening a retail shop
• striking a work/life balance with children in the equation
• why she loves freelancing
• the importance of pricing correctly
• how she manages her weddings using systems she created
• the importance of identifying and writing down processes before attempting to incorporate them into a new software
• four ways she's managed to learn floral design techniques over the years
• adjusting with trends
• the mechanics tools that revolutionized her work
• tips for working with cold glue
• the importance of relationships with fellow vendors
• the things she'd like to see change in the floral industry

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series
• BB Garden Style Shop

• Alison Ellis | Real Flower Business
• What Wedding Flowers Cost South Africa
• Chapel Designers 
• Sue McLeary
• Holly Chapple
• Francoise Weeks
• Gregor Lersch
• Constance Spry
• Per Benjamin
• Daniel Ost
• Oasis Floral Adhesive (cold glue)

Click here for more information on The Mayesh Pull - send your sales rep inspiration images, a budget, Pinterest boards, etc. and have your rep pull a custom order for you. It's a great way to find out about new, fun products you might not have known about otherwise!

Today we’re visiting Jennifer Haf, owner of BLOOM in Charlevoix, Michigan to discuss:

• how her garden grown flowers paved the way to a thriving wedding + retail flower business
• how her business has grown and changed alongside her family life over the years
• running a flower business in a seasonal location
• thinking through an exit strategy for retirement
• how she curates her retail shop
• rebranding
• sourcing from makers for retail
• her interest in product development
• her educational journey in floral design
• her Open Book program of one-on-one learning opportunities
• how she tackles the engineering behind the large installations she offers her clients
• refining the 'less is more' minimalist aesthetic
• enjoying leisure time to balance work life
• her cutting garden and how she utilizes local farm

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series
• BB Garden Style Shop

• NY Gift Market
• Flower School NY
• Ariella Chezar
• Holly Chapple
• Chapel Designers
• Studio Mondine
• Flower House Mexico

Click here for more info on Alison Ellis’s email, proposal, contract, and work flow templates or visit the Real Flower Business website here.

Today we’re visiting Bryan Watson, co-owner of Myrtie Blue with his partner Gene in Fort Walton Beach, Florida to discuss:

• the story behind their business name
• the challenges of producing beach weddings
• the secret behind his successful business partnership with his husband, Gene
• Myrtie Blue's extensive rental inventory
• how he organizes and retains the staff responsible for Myrtie Blue's event production
• the piece of the puzzle he's yet to solve related to staff duties
• the ins and outs of his production process with his team
• the unique way he handles minimum spends for his clients
• his desire to source more locally grown flowers in the Florida Panhandle

• Blog
• Instagram
• Facebook
• BB Garden Style Workshop Series
• BB Garden Style Shop

• Ariella Chezar
• Watercolor
• Seaside 
• Carillon Beach
• Alys Beach
• Rosemary Beach

Click here for dates and locations of 2019 Mayesh Design Star workshops with Atlanta-based floral designer Shean Strong.  And don’t miss Shean’s Tutorial Videos this year! Watch his Indoor Meadow Tutorial here.